Gotta be kidding ... High Life is more like urine than any
other beer I've ever encountered, and I've encountered
some nasty ones.

I grew up in Wisconsin, which brews some of the most boring (most of the Miller brands) and interesting domestic beers. The best cheap ones are the bock versions of the small town breweries, such as Huber, Leinenkugel, Augsberger, Capital Brewery and some others I can't remember. Back in my college days (late '80s), you could get these terrific beers for $6-9 for a whole returnable case.

Anyone else remember returnables?

There's nothing terrible about the mass produced American beers -- they're not awful. The problem with almost all of them is that they are really boring. For the same price, you can find much more interesting beers.

I also love Tsingtao. Can definately add that to my list.

But it isn't a cheap beer in much of the world (US price is about $1.40 per bottle -- or double the price of the "cheap beer" threshold). Given that it is brewed in china from ingredients imported from Canada and Australia, it will never be very cheap. While below average by German pilsner standards, Tsingtao does have a sweeter taste which appeals to the Asian market, and is a well made beer.

Oh, I don't dispute that - I'll drink Bud or Busch or MGD or Michelob or
even Rolling Rock, but High Life ... get someone to buy one for you, and
let it warm up past 40F, and sniff it, and see if you don't agree.

I wonder if they've changed the formula for this stuff. Back in the early 70s, I remember it as being pretty decent. Nothing special or particularly distinguished, to be sure, but a reasonably high quality macro brew.

The current version, however IMHO, is pretty hard to take.

Goebel: Now there's a blast from the past! My memory of it was that it was dirt cheap, but not bad. My grandfather used to like to knock one back (and just one) at the end of a hot summer day.

In Belgium I was picking up 4 packs of Chimay for 4 Euro. It says a lot about the general standard of beer in a country when the cheap supermarket beer is Chimay.

Because I'm Australian my pick of the budget beers there would be a Coopers

I don't think I've bought a "cheap" beer in the US yet as there's far too much interesting beer out there that has to be tasted but if I'm unfortunate to be stuck somewhere with a limited beer selection I usually tend towards sam adams.

Hamms

It's entirely possible that the High Life formula has changed over the
ages - when I started drinking, I preferred Budweiser (that was 1953, and
I was very very young), but at university ('60s-'70s) I didn't think Miller
was that bad. But now, I can smell it two or three glasses away.

Hamm's? Hamm's hasn't been anything to write home about for decades,
either. I remember when Consumer Reports gave it the top rating (that too
was probably 30-35 years ago), but shortly thereafter it was bought up
and brought down. Actually, it was never that good, just a clean, crisp,
almost unhopped beer. Not unlike Olympia ("it's [the] water), Stroh's
("fire-brewed"), and several others that went the same way of all fluid.

Here in Madison we get 24-packs of 500mL cans of Hollandia for about $16. It's a good, honest, dry pilsner from Holland. Much better than any cheap American pilsner, and also much better than Heineken.

I'm a little less than two hours away from Mad City, so next time there, I'll make it a point to pick up some.

I pretty much agree with the previous poster about Hamms, Strohs, and Oly. Of the three, I'd rate Strohs as "least boring"....but not by much.

Love Shiner Bock. But I can't get it for less than $7 for a six-pack here in Washington. That's not exactly in the cheap beer category.

I'm a fan of Miller Lite and Molson. During college, though, I drank many Keystones and Natural Lights.

Hamms was my first beer ever. My Dad had a six pack in the fridge for about 6 months and I kept looking at it and wondering how I could sneak one and give it a try. I know I eventually took one. Not sure how I didn't get caught. Probably was 13 years old. Been downhill ever since.;)

I like Orangeboom from Holland. I can get it for $4.99/six pack at Trader Joes.

I also love Victoria beer from Mexico. I believe it's made by the same folks who brew Corona. I've had it in Cancun but haven't ever seen it in the US.

Genny Screamers (called that as how it affected some the next morning on the throne) ^ . I haven't had a screamer in ages.

I remember getting Goebel's in high school (early 80s) for $3.99 a case. Mickeys was always the cheapest in the store when buying by the 6-pack.